Muscat Open 2026: Nasser Alkandari Wins in Oman
Results of the first Muscat International Open Bowling Championships 2026: stepladder final, Ben Robinson's 300 game, oil pattern and prize money.
Tina Mendo
Muscat Open 2026: results at a glance
Nasser Alkandari of Kuwait won the first Muscat International Open Bowling Championships in January 2026. In the title match of the stepladder final, the top seed beat England's Ben Robinson 245–217. Finland's Tomas Kayhko finished third.
The tournament took place at the Al Seeb Bowling Center in Muscat, Oman, from 8 to 19 January 2026; bowlers from abroad competed from 13 January. It was organised by the Oman Bowling Committee and Muscat Municipality and sanctioned by the International Bowling Federation (IBF) and the Asian Bowling Federation (ABF). More than 150 bowlers appear in the qualifying standings.
Format and oil pattern
After qualifying, 32 bowlers advanced to Round 2: the top 30 from qualifying plus two from the desperado squad. After six games in Round 2, the top 16 bowled eight more games in Round 3, and the top five from Round 3 went into the stepladder final.
The lanes were dressed with a 46-foot Kegel pattern named "Muscat Open (46)", with an oil volume of 31.65 ml and a ratio of 1.72:1. That is a long pattern. What that means for ball reaction is explained in our article on reading lane oil patterns.
A 300 game for Ben Robinson
Ben Robinson rolled a perfect 300 game in the second game of Round 2 and finished the round in first place with 1,360 pins over six games. In Round 3, Nasser Alkandari took the lead with 1,888 pins over eight games, an average of 236, and went into the stepladder final as the top seed.
The stepladder final
- Match 1 (three bowlers): Tomas Kayhko (Finland) 224, Musaab Aladwi (Oman) 210, Mohammed Syazirol (Malaysia) 202. Kayhko advanced, Aladwi finished fourth, Syazirol fifth.
- Match 2: Ben Robinson (England) beat Tomas Kayhko 238–217.
- Title match: Nasser Alkandari (Kuwait) beat Ben Robinson 245–217.
Final standings and prize money
The prize fund totalled 30,000 Omani rials (OMR), paid across the top 32 places.
| Place | Bowler | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nasser Alkandari | Kuwait | OMR 8,500 |
| 2 | Ben Robinson | England | OMR 4,300 |
| 3 | Tomas Kayhko | Finland | OMR 3,000 |
| 4 | Musaab Aladwi | Oman | OMR 2,000 |
| 5 | Mohammed Syazirol | Malaysia | OMR 1,500 |
Full scores, photos and the pattern sheet are available on the Asian Bowling Federation website (abf-online.org).
Further reading: Bowling lane oil patterns explained · Oil patterns for beginners · Why your own bowling shoes make a difference